12 Intentional Actions to Choose Happiness Today

Written byjoshua becker ·

“Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” —Abraham Lincoln

Happy people realize happiness is a choice. They are not held hostage by their circumstances and they do not seek happiness in people or possessions. They understand that when we stop chasing the world’s definition of happiness, we begin to see the decision to experience happiness has been right in front of us all along. Research in the field of positive psychology continues to reinforce this understanding.

But simply knowing that happiness is a choice is not enough. Fully experiencing it still requires a conscience decision to do so each day. How then might each of us begin to experience this joy?

Consider this list of 12 Intentional Actions to Choose Happiness Today. Embrace one new action item… practice all of them… or simply use them as inspiration to discover your own.

1. Count your blessings. Happy people choose to focus on the positive aspects of life rather than the negative. They set their minds on specific reasons to be grateful. They express it when possible. And they quickly discover there is always, always, something to be grateful for.

2. Carry a smile. A smile is a wonderful beautifier. But more than that, studies indicate that making an emotion-filled face carries influence over the feelings processed by the brain. Our facial expression can influence our brain in just the same way our brains influence our face. In other words, you can actually program yourself to experience happiness by choosing to smile. Not to mention, all the pretty smiles you’ll receive in return for flashing yours is also guaranteed to increase your happiness level.

3. Speak daily affirmation into your life. Affirmations are positive thoughts accompanied with affirmative beliefs and personal statements of truth. They are recited in the first person, present tense (“I am…”). Affirmations used daily can release stress, build confidence, and improve outlook. For maximum effectiveness, affirmations should be chosen carefully, be based in truth, and address current needs. Here is a list of 100 daily affirmations to help you get started.

4. Wake up on your terms. Most of us have alarm clocks programmed because of the expectations of others: a workplace, a school, or a waking child. That’s probably not going to change. But that doesn’t mean we have to lose control over our mornings in the process. Wake up just a little bit early and establish an empowering, meaningful, morning routine. Start each day on your terms. The next 23 hours will thank you for it.

5. Hold back a complaint. The next time you want to lash out in verbal complaint towards a person, a situation, or yourself, don’t. Instead, humbly keep it to yourself. You’ll likely diffuse an unhealthy, unhappy environment. But more than that, you’ll experience joy by choosing peace in a difficult situation.

6. Practice one life-improving discipline. There is happiness and fulfillment to be found in personal growth. To know that you have intentionally devoted time and energy to personal improvement is one of the most satisfying feelings you’ll ever experience. Embrace and practice at least one act of self-discipline each day. This could be exercise, budgeting, or guided-learning… whatever your life needs today to continue growing. Find it. Practice it. Celebrate it.

7. Use your strengths. Each of us have natural talents, strengths, and abilities. And when we use them effectively, we feel alive and comfortable in our skin. They help us find joy in our being and happiness in our design. So embrace your strengths and choose to operate within your giftedness each day. If you need to find this outlet outside your employment, by all means, find this outlet.

8. Accomplish one important task. Because happy people choose happiness, they take control over their lives. They don’t make decisions based on a need to pursue joy. Instead, they operate out of the satisfaction they have already chosen. They realize there are demands on their time, helpful pursuits to accomplish, and important contributions to make to the world around them. Choose one important task that you can accomplish each day. And find joy in your contribution.

9. Eat a healthy meal/snack. We are spiritual, emotional, and mental beings. We are also physical bodies. Our lives cannot be wholly separated into its parts. As a result, one aspect always influences the others. For example, our physical bodies will always have impact over our spiritual and emotional well-being. Therefore, caring for our physical well-being can have significant benefit for our emotional standing. One simple action to choose happiness today is to eat healthy foods. Your physical body will thank you… and so will your emotional well-being.

10. Treat others well. Everyone wants to be treated kindly. But more than that, deep down, we also want to treat others with the same respect that we would like given to us. Treat everyone you meet with kindness, patience, and grace. The Golden Rule is a powerful standard. It benefits the receiver. But also brings growing satisfaction in yourself as you seek to treat others as you would like to be treated.

11. Meditate. Find time alone in solitude. As our world increases in speed and noise, the ability to withdraw becomes even more essential. Studies confirm the importance and life-giving benefits of meditation. So take time to make time. And use meditation to search inward, connect spiritually, and improve your happiness today.

12. Search for benefit in your pain. This life can be difficult. Nobody escapes without pain. At some point—in some way—we all encounter it. When you do, remind yourself again that the trials may be difficult, but they will pass. And search deep to find meaning in the pain. Choose to look for the benefits that can be found in your trial. At the very least, perseverance is being built. And most likely, an ability to comfort others in their pain is also being developed.

Go today. Choose joy and be happy. That will make two of us.

About Joshua Becker

Writer. Inspiring others to live more by owning less.WSJ Bestselling author of The More of Less.

Comments

Absolutely love and try to live by these actions. Try to promote them with my clients in my coaching practice as well. Beautiful and sound advice, with yourself as the center of your life. I love that. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this!

With or without mental illness, these steps may help improve your life, not necessarily fix it. I have physical pain everyday that interrupts my life often, but doing these types of things on a regular basis do make my life better/happier. Chronic pain can play with someones mental health if not careful (and it has) so I have to choose to take care of all the other factors in my life. It’s not always easy but it is definitely worth it. Best wishes to you Elly on your journey to wellness. And thank Joshua for the reminders :)

I too have mental illness as well as chronic systematic illness and #12 has worked for me as well as the 1-11.
Now that I think of it, it’s just another 12-step program the twelfth is the enlightenment. ????
“How can I use my what I’ve learned from my suffering to help others?” May be the most important calling for us humans.

Good for you, Lisa! It is definitely not an easy process, and thankfully, the writer doesn’t claim that it is. But we can choose some of the things we think about and do each day, and that can make a huge difference. Not a cure, but a difference. Love your attitude!

Fantastic article, I am also a true advocate of power of Meditation! So much so I think Drs should be prescribing meditation as standard practice instead of always dishing out antidepressants. I am such a strong believer of making happiness ourselves that I wrote my own 5 simple tips and tricks on how to be happy: http://www.traceyanne.com/how-to-be-happy-5-easy-steps/

At age 90 my father was wracked with pain all throughout his body. Every step he took, every breath he drew came with a price. He was barely mobile, using a wheel chair and once in awhile a walker. Other people had to help him do the simplest of personal chores. Every day was one more physical battle

A month or so before his death, he and my mom went to a local family restaurant. The waitress told them that the special of the day was tilapia.

“Oh, no, that won’t do,” my father declared, “That was my high school mascot, We were the South High Fighting Tilapia!”

My mother grimaced.

“Don’t pay attention to him, he’s always saying stuff like that.”

The waitress took their order and began to walk away. But after a few steps she stopped and turned to see Dad sitting in his wheel chair. He was smiling.

She looked for a moment, and then she did something wonderful.

She smiled back.

Happiness is a choice that perhaps some folks simply cannot make. But if you can, do yourself a favor and adopt the tilapia as your school mascot.

Great article, great advise of actionable tips that we can take to choose happiness. I understand is not always easy but it is so worth it. Nowadays there are so many studies backing up that techniques like meditation, exercise, smiling… are as effective or more effective than medication. Plus the side effects are all beneficial: improved health. Thank you.
I also wrote an article about this important subject:http://raisefrequency.com/key-to-happiness/

Thank You so much for your posts, insights, encouragement and guidance; they have helped me ( and I’m sure many, many others) to know how, take steps, and to keep forging in a positive direction of minimizing, joy and happiness. You have found your ministry of calling, and are doing it well !